Photosynthesis is a complex plant process that can be potentially dangerous to the plant under many circumstances. For example, energy captured in the form of photons can exceed the rate at which the energy can be used, resulting in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell damage. Many mechanisms have evolved in plants to cope with this challenge, including some that are fast responding, such as photo protection via the qE response, and others that are slower responding, such as the induction of genes encoding proteins that can detoxify ROS.
It is unknown how these different mechanisms are integrated and the degree to which given mechanisms take precedence under specific environmental conditions. For example, the same mechanisms may be activated in the same series when plants at low temperature are subjected to a change in light intensity, as those that occur when plants that are experiencing drought also experience a change in light intensity. Therefore, understanding how real-time, dynamically fluctuating systems affect plant status (e.g., photosynthetic productivity, efficiency, growth, and the like) are useful for improving a plant's response to the environmental conditions or cues (e.g., abiotic, biotic, and the like).